AL.com Opinion

Toxic City: Birmingham's Dirty Secret," a documentary that details residents' struggle for healthier lives, aims to clear the air and bring attention to a dire problem that festers in our community.

Birmingham is getting sicker with each passing day.

The diagnosis: For decades, the residents of Collegeville, Fairmont, Harriman Park and North Birmingham have been victims of industrialization. Those homes are surrounded by heavy industry, where soot and chemicals coat the property - and lungs - of unsuspecting residents.

The remedy: Healing begins with awareness. "Toxic City: Birmingham's Dirty Secret," a documentary that details residents' struggle for healthier lives, aims to clear the air and bring attention to a dire problem that festers in our community.

The documentary, produced by nonprofit health advocacy organization GASP, will premier Thursday, June 12 at 6:30 p.m. at the Carver Theatre. Following the premier, I'm honored to join Sonya DiCarlo, an award-winning former CBS 42 producer/reporter, and George Munchus, professor of management at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, for a panel discussion of key issues. Rachel Osier Lindley, news director for WBHM 90.3, will lead the discussion.

Alabama filmmaker Hunter Nichols, who directed "Toxic City," has said that "I'm still shocked various agencies designed to protect human health seem to shrug this off and tell people to go see a doctor."

Therein lies the problem. That spirit of indifference is just as deadly as the pollution that strangles our children's respiratory system.

The first question some may ask is "why don't these families move?" It's not that simple.

Many residents are stuck in these neighborhoods. The film highlights racial zoning maps from the early 20th century, which reveal that African-Americans in particular were quarantined in these areas during segregation. Generations later, many poor families simply can't afford to relocate.

We can't sit back and watch our neighbors suffer. Pollution is not just their problem - a fact we may soon realize when winds bring those chemicals to our own front doors.

This isn't a North Birmingham or Collegeville issue. The health and well-being of our friends and neighbors should be an extreme priority for our entire community.

"Toxic City" will lay out all the facts June 12. It's then up to us to push for cleaner conditions. It's the only cure for these ailing neighborhoods.

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